This page contains a letter written by Dean Jeanne Ortiz of Whittier
College (in black text) and comments on the letter by whittiergate.com (in green
text):
"This past week some members of the Whittier College community received
an e-mail directing them to a website. This site contained information about
the College and pictures of students. The content was upsetting as it portrayed
students engaged in activities intended to be shared only among friends, along
with misleading text. Students can go to ASWCpoets.com for information on how
to remove items from social networking sites."
Comments: First,
read about some of Whittier College's efforts to keep students away from whittiergate.com
in Dirty Tricks Log on this site. Now, all photos referenced were posted for
public viewing, were not intended for viewing only by friends, but were indeed
posted to attract new friends. And, no whittiergate.com text is knowingly misleading.
We would submit that it is Whittier College, not this website, attempting to
mislead.
"I, along with many, was deeply disturbed by the site's content and as
a result, would like to offer the following thoughts:
"1. Despite the common misconception that the information and pictures
shared on Myspace and Facebook are private, this incident affirms that what
is uploaded to these social networking sites is public, has the potential to
be shared widely and is difficult to remove. Because of the public nature of
these sites, it is not uncommon for potential employers to check these sites
when considering an individual to hire and there have been reports of employment
decision influenced by what is portrayed on these social networking sites. The
take away? Do not post anything on the internet that you would not be proud
to be seen by a wide range of people including your family, friends and future
employers."
Comments: Better,
don't do things you wouldn't be proud to have widely known. And don't let the
Whittier College administration mislead you by the example of its own misconduct
and crimes, and by the way the College sweeps your misconduct and crimes under
the rug, to believe that you'll get away with misconduct and crimes in the big
world outside little Whittier College and its equally corrupt college town,
Whittier.
And what site content was Dean Ortiz deeply disturbed by exactly? By Whittier
College's criminal neglect while Profs. Barnstone and Heldman and Heldman's
child were terrorized on campus, or the College in a conspiracy to chill protected
speech by a false filing, perjury and obstruction of justice, or preventing
publication in the newspaper of open letters from on and off campus sources,
or planting libelous and defamatory disinformation articles in newspapers, or
assault on an officer of a court by Campus Safety, or just what site content
exactly? If Dean Ortiz was surprised by what goes on every day where she works,
then, well, her thoughts would be relevant to any resolution?
What's deeply disturbing is Whittier College acting like a parent on his or
her way to prison excusing his or her child's budding criminal career by saying,
"I told him to do what I say, not what I do." Dean Ortiz, if you want
your students to be honest, upright leaders in the bud, then someone should
tell you that your evasions, your dishonesty by omissions, your cya reaction
first and last, well, this is some role modeling, Dean.
"2. Residential life operates with the assumption that students should
be able to live with relative privacy, except when certain behaviors such as
noise or the smell of marijuana require intervention. The pictures posted on
this site suggest that some students were engaged in behaviors that violate
College policy or federal or state laws. Residential Life does not search social
networking sites for policy violations, however, when information like this
is brought to the office's attention, Residential Life has no alternative but
to investigate. The take away? We have made a decision not to investigate the
situations and individuals portrayed in these pictures, but will be compelled
to do so in the future."
Comments: Whittier
College always knows what's going on on campus, including in the dorms. RA's,
staff, Campus Safety, audio and visual monitoring, and all of just 800 residents
in close quarters. So the point here is that you better not let the wrong people
find out what you're doing, and if you post photos, especially on whittiergate.com,
then you'll be punished. So the punishment isn't for breaking rules or laws,
but for in effect talking about it, even in pictorial form, in the wrong place.
FYI, if this site had foreseen anything but the College sweeping your misconduct
under it's dirty skirts, we'd have had to go about this differently. Nothing
consequential is going to happen to you, as you know, no matter what you do,
as long as you play ball with the College. Everyone who knows Whittier College
knows it's out of control, and the College wants to keep that quiet, but evidently
not to correct problems, to engage in chilling protected speech and petition
rights, but not to chill the real dangers on campus, and this site simply wants
the College to be honest.
If Whittier College isn't going to keep drugs out of the dorms, then it should
stand up and call for a change in the drug laws. If Whittier College isn't going
to stop underage drinking in the dorms, then it should stand up and call for
a change in the drinking age. If Whittier College is going to foster an environment
in which minors violate College policy and federal and state laws, and engage
in misconduct and criminal acts to keep that fact quiet, then it had better
have a better response than "Shhh!"
The hypocrisy of Whittier College policy breeds dishonesty, contempt for rules
and rule of law, begs students to engage in misconduct and crimes, and then
protects them for doing so, setting you up for problems in the future beyond
campus. This hypocrisy has also resulted in a Campus Safety office that is not
only inept but as well corrupt. That is disturbing.
And if Whittier College is not going to run its mandatory housing in a manner
that emphasizes acceptable conditions for study as well as socializing, then
student families have a right to know that, for what they're paying and the
debt they're assuming for years to come as well as their right to simply expect
the College to uphold its end of the deal, to be honest, to actually provide
the student with what's advertised, not the out of control situation this website
honestly shows is reality at Whittier College.
"3. Situations like this can cause students to feel uneasy because their
perceived privacy has been violated. It may cause one to ask, "Does the
person who did this know where I live?" "What does he/she know about
me?" Campus Safety can only do so much to help ensure the safety of students...
they cannot be everywhere all the time! The take away? Students must take responsibility
for their own personal safety and the safety of others. If you see a door propped
open, shut it. Don't let people "tailgate" when entering your residence
hall, and immediately report anything that you think is suspicious to Campus
Safety. Program their telephone number, 562-907-4211 into your cell phone."
Comments: This is beneath contempt. Scaring
students to control students. This website exists in large part because of the
violence committed on the Whittier College campus, not by a website but by Campus
Safety officers and by student bullies protected by Whittier College. And when
Campus Safety assaults you, where do you go? To the Whittier P. D., Campus Safety
City Division? Thank God Campus Safety can't be everywhere all the time: that
means there are some safe havens if only temporarily. What do you do when bullies
protected by the College threaten or assault you? When you figure that one out,
be sure to tell the professors and students who've left Whittier College because
they don't feel safe on the Whittier College campus.
If Campus Safety wasn't so involved in Dirty Tricks against good people, then
it might have some time to think through and then carry out its supposed functions
effectively, instead of ruining the school's reputation with Dirty Tricks and
bungling its supposed functions so badly it sometimes seems as though they must
be doing so on purpose. Campus Safety is the fox investigating the fox in the
chicken coop. Think felonious eavesdropping on Quaker Campus, as just one example.
Campus Safety alternating doing nothing with heavy-handed actions violating
rights creates not just a lack of respect for Campus Safety, but, more, passive
resistance to its officers and administrators. This hasn't just taken place
during the Barnstone, Heldman cheating scandal violence, resulting in those
terrorizing Barnstrone and Heldman, and Heldman's child, on campus, thanks to
this godawfaul police work the perpetrators getting away with serious misconduct
and crimes on campus, but generally characterizes Campus Safety's on campus
bungling.
And when you experience a serious problem issuing from Whittier College's Societies,
do you imagine that Campus Safety's going to help you? Campus Safety employees
are Society members. Acting Campus Safety Chief John Lewis is a long-time member
and advisor to a Society on campus. When guys pushing 30 are through campus
Societies preying on the youngest coeds, role modeling for student Society members,
and Campus Safety wants that kept from you, while it already knows about such
individuals, has indeed facilitated their illegal activities, then be concerned.
Do you believe that Campus Safety doesn't know about Society hazings? Students
are now in jail in California for being part of hazings, and in some states
it is now a crime to fail to report knowledge of a hazing incident. There are
reasons why Whittier College Societies can't keep a house for more than a year
or two at most. Everyone knows, yet nothing is done, and any effort made to
correct problems is subjected to Dirty Tricks.
The dangers on the Whittier College campus are posed by those you know on campus,
not by strangers; are not caused by a website but by those whom you know who
can pressure you to do what's wanted of you, or retaliate against you if you
don't do what's wanted or dare do what's not wanted, if such coercion is in
the self-perceived best interest of those persons known to you. Shame on Dean
Ortiz for this shameless insult to our intelligence. A Dean of Students' first
obligation is to students, not to the administration that merely gives the Dean
a pay check. It is student families who give the College the money to cover
those checks, Dean Ortiz.
And, Dean Ortiz, if you will only stop repeating "The take away?",
we'll tell you everything we know.
"4. I asked myself, "If someone not associated with Whittier College
saw this site, what would they think?" Although I know that students engage
in the type of behaviors represented on this website, this is not the Whittier
I know best. The Whittier I know is full of bright, capable students who daily
reflect the Whittier College values of respect and dignity for each other and
the campus and as our mission statement reads, are developing into young adults
committed to leading and serving society. The take away? Please use this unfortunate
incident to reflect on the ways in which you live out the founding values of
Whittier College. Each of us took a pledge at the President's Convocation to
let the "Light of Learning" guide our intellectual and personal endeavors
so that we become those exemplary leaders in society. This will reflect positively
on how we see ourselves as a campus community and how others outside of campus
see us."
Comments: Anyone reading this website
will see that Whittier College has serious problems, refuses to face and solve
those problems, habitually engages in Dirty Tricks, and needs to make things
right with victims of its misconduct and crimes, and make some policy changes.
Whittier College needs to stop reducing important concepts and noble sentiment
to platitudes and fear. Where is Dean Ortiz's, Whittier College's, respect for
our intelligence or even common sense?
Reading Dean Ortiz's email, after having seen whittiergate.com, one's just bowled
over by the complete moral, ethical and analytic vacuity of the Dean's view.
When you have more students lying and cheating than being honest, then you have
a serious problem. While you refuse to admit it, the problem worsens. When you
fail to protect those who report misconduct from threats and retaliation, you
have a crisis.
And when, still worse, you violate protected speech and petition rights, when
you engage in misconduct and crimes to chill those rights, when you assault
an officer of a court making required legal service on campus, then the administration
is role modeling darkness, not light, misconduct and crimes, and you will never,
while you continue as you have been and are, produce even honest people let
alone exemplary leaders. Since the Quakers, the founders, stopped funding Whittier
College, for moral and ethical objections to the reality of Whittier College,
the school has only sunk lower and lower. Dean Ortiz's words here, like patriotism,
are the scoundrel's last resort. When Whittier College starts talking about
the Friends, just hold your nose, it'll pass, quickly.
"Thank you very much for reading my musings, especially at this very busy
time of year. If you have some thoughts, I would love to hear from you. Best
wishes on your finals, and remember, you are always a Poet."
Jeanne Ortiz, PhD.
Dean of Students
Whittier College
Comments: Dean Ortiz will have to love
hearing from us through this page: this website's blocked by the Whittier College
server. No student of Whittier College can ever be justly proud of being a Poet
until Whittier College makes things right with its victims and makes and actually
implements policies that make Whittier College live up to its own billing, which
it demonstrably does not do now. Until faculty and students can report misconduct
and crimes without fear of threats and retaliation, then there is no policy
of consequence, no rule of law, at Whittier College. Whittier College student
families have made a deal with the devil here: the College will protect the
student from consequences for wrongs done, but that student will be subject
to the school's and the bullies' it protects influence and control therefore.
Dean Ortiz, no one can view whittiergate.com and fail to see the issues demanding
redress, the policies needing change. No one can fail to see that this website
is against threats, coercion, violence, dirty tricks, and that the only threats
that've been made, the only violence that has been perpetrated, have issued
from Whittier College and the bullies it protects. Students being shown to be
doing what Dean Ortiz already knows they've been doing, not only breaking but
flaunting breaking all the rules, and laws, and has done nothing about heretofore,
isn't her concern. Dean Ortiz's concern is that people will learn the truth
about Whittier College, and has made clear that you'll be punished if you show
the truth to the wrong person, show it in the wrong place, not for wrongs done,
but rather if you exercise your free speech.
Condoning and even role modeling misconduct and crimes while chilling free speech
is Whittier College's true character, brand. This is the continuing tragedy
that makes being a Poet mean so much less than it might mean if the oath was
honestly, not hypocritically, given and sworn. In the same way a cheating student
could do better by honest study, so Whittier College clinging to self-destructive
Dirty Tricks when it could do so much better by simply being honest, role modeling
a sound sense of morals and ethics, for a change, leaves one as dumbstruck as
did Dick Nixon being caught with his pants down while up to his knees in Dirty
Trick revelations. Given that there's a Whittier Law School, even if it is on
probation because so many of its graduates fail to pass the bar exam, role modeling
a respect for the law and its purposes and intentions, instead of playing fast
and loose with that which ensures our civility, is likewise reasonably expected
from Whittier College.
Dean Ortiz, people are going to learn the truth, no matter what you do to try
to prevent that happening. The smart money's on doing the right things, making
things right for wrongs done, making changes in policies so that Whittier College
can be honest, can continue to exist in this time when we're all turned inside
out, when what we are in reality is shown for all to see. The time when Dirty
Tricks could manipulate an uninformed public is gone. If all Whittier College
amounts to is a pile of Dirty Tricks, then what is its value to an open society?
This website has given Whittier an opportunity to change. Whittier College should
make the most of this opportunity - because only then can Whittier College students
stop hiding the truth, being dishonest, like their role models at Whittier College,
and finally be honest and honestly proud to be Poets.